by C. M. Carney
“What the hell dude? Way to make a guy soil his britches,” Lex grumbled. Gryph squinted in distaste and looked at the Ordonian’s pants. Lex noticed and grumbled. “It’s an expression man.”
“You’re up late?” Gryph noticed the bedraggled look to his friend’s clothing, his mussed up hair and cheery glow. “Where've you been?” A flush of embarrassment colored Lex’s cheeks increasing Gryph’s curiosity.
“What?” Lex said defensively. “Can’t a guy take a midnight walk … in the Grove … alone.” His eyes lowered and moved side to side like a man searching for witnesses who might contradict his story. After a moment, righteous indignation filled him. “You know, I’m a grown man and a consenting adult and I’m allowed to do as I please.”
“Who or what were you consenting with?” Gryph said, failing to reign in his amusement.
“Crap, said too much.” Lex raised both hands, waving and snapping them in front of Gryph’s face, like some hack magician trying to erase memories. Gryph’s expression did not change. “It’s none of your business what I’m doing. My life, my business. Now butt out.”
“Fair enough,” Gryph said with a grin and walked on.
“Hey,” Lex said, rushing after him. Gryph suspected the NPC was uncertain exactly why he’d said the word. After a few moments of walking alongside his player, sending glances his way, waiting for him to say something, anything, Lex chirped up again. “So, what are you up to?”
“My life, my business,” Gryph said, sarcasm dripping in his tone.
Lex scowled, annoyed that he’d walked right into that trap. “Now you’re just being a dick. Really, what are you doing?” He noticed Gryph’s spear, armor and buckler. “You’re going to kill some asshole monsters aren’t you? Can I come?”
“If you tell me where you’ve been?”
Lex cocked his head as if considering and then shook it. “Nope, we haven’t labelled whatever this thing is, so I’m not sayin’ nuthin’.”
“Apart from just telling me you have a lady friend.”
“Dammit,” Lex grumbled. “And why are you assuming it’s a lady friend? Maybe I’m wider in my interests.”
“Okay, so you have a fella,” Gryph said nonchalantly.
“No, no, it’s a lady, just … never mind.” He glared at Gryph. “I am not saying anything else, so don’t try to get anything out of me.”
“Okay.”
“I’m serious guy. End of story. My lips are as sealed as Fort Knox.” He walked towards his own chambers, pointing at Gryph all casual like. “I’ll suit up. Gimme five?”
“Sure thing Romeo,” Gryph nodded and after a scowl, the NPC ran to his room. Five minutes later Lex returned, and they were on their way.
“So, yeah, me and mystery lady aren’t quite sure what this is yet. Are we friends with bennies or are we destined to be the next Bennifer or Brangelina?
The pair entered the Nexus, the command-and-control center of Dar Thoriim. A dwarf and a pair of warborn manned the control panel. On seeing them, Lex’s tone turned to a whisper.
“I don’t know. She doesn’t know. So, until then we’re keeping it all hush-hush and private.”
“It’s Yrriel.”
“Dude!” Lex exclaimed, looking around them in panic. “Keep your voice down.”
The dwarf and the warborn looked up from their duties, but Gryph waved off their concerns. “Everybody knows Lex.”
“Really?” Lex eyed him with surprise. “You sure? I thought we were on the down low.” He considered for a moment. “Yrriel gave it away didn’t she? I mean I see the way she looks at me.”
“It’s you, man. You’re all googly eyed and wavey any time she’s near you.”
“That doesn’t sound like me. Wait, yes it does.”
“Lucky for you she’s been around for a while, like a few millennia, and cares not a whit about the opinions of others.”
“Yeah, it's one of my favorite things about her.” Lex paused. “And don’t think I didn’t notice that crack about her age. She’s a beautiful, mature woman.”
“Who is old enough to be your great, great, great, great, add another ten greats, grandmother.”
“Yeah,” Lex said with a sly smile. “Just imagine the things she’s learned in all those lifetimes. Boy, I could tell you some stories.”
“Please don’t,” Gryph begged, squirming as an image of a naked, hairy Lex punched against his mental firewall.
Ten minutes later the pair reached the entrance to the UnderPass. In that time Lex’s tale had drawn expressions from Gryph that ran the gamut from disturbed to intrigued, with a few cringes tossed in for good measure. As they entered, a warborn warrior walked up bringing a blessed end to Lex’s tale. Gryph almost hugged the powerful warrior automaton in relief.
“Well met Stone Lord,” the man said, smacking a fist to his chest. A pair of intricate serpents twined around his forearm.
“Well met War Leader Berrath,” Gryph said, thankful for the identifying ink. Warborn were magical clones, each one an exact duplicate. Even identical twins had greater differences. It was yet another burden to bear for a people struggling to find an identity in the Realms.
Berrath, like all his brothers, had adopted tattoos as a way of bringing uniqueness to his appearance and to acknowledge his accomplishments. A warborn did not choose his own tattoos, they were gifts from his brothers, badges of honor and accomplishment. Berrath’s dual serpents said that he had twice saved lives in battle at the risk of his own. Gryph suspected that more serpents would soon curl around the War Leader’s arm.
Gryph nodded to the rest of Berrath’s squad, each man tattooed with a variety of patterns, symbols and beasts. As one the squad saluted Gryph, powerful fists smashing into the metal armor covering their chests.
Gryph noted their arms and armor. For underground work the warborn carried short spears instead of their usual long ones. A sword, that compared to their seven-foot frames seemed only a long dagger, lay at their hip. The handle of an arbalest, a heavy crossbow capable of firing bolts with tremendous force, crested each man’s shoulder.
They wore chain cuirasses with a solid plate protecting the chest. A segmented metal and leather skirt protected their pelvis and legs. Arm guards, greaves, boots and an unadorned metal helmet rounded out their armor. Strapped to the left forearm was a circular shield, twice the size of Gryph’s own buckler. A half-moon shaped groove at the top ready to brace their spear.
Despite the lack of magical armaments or spell casters, Gryph's own Adventure Group would find this squad of ten warborn no easy adversary. And how deadly will they be when we pair them with a ranged caster and a healer? Gryph wondered.
“How goes it?” Gryph asked, returning his attention to Berrath.
“We have cleared several hundred feet into the UnderPass. We have fought a variety of beasts, but the main opposition has been from a large colony of stone wranglers. Their rocky hides have proven an effective defense against us, but we’ve seen recent success thanks to a new tactic.”
“What tactic?” Lex asked.
In answer, Berrath turned and looked into the murk further down the UnderPass. A moment later a blazing flash of light filled the entire space. Lex and Gryph shielded their eyes as high-pitched screams of pain and rage flowed over them. None of the warborn so much as flinched, immune to both the light and the horrific howls.
The warborn are immune to flash bangs, Gryph thought impressed though mildly irritated that Berrath had given them no warning.
“Come,” Berrath said. As one, his squad of warborn turned and marched towards the light. “A friend wishes to say hello.”
10
Gryph and Lex followed the warborn as the illumination dimmed. Gryph’s vision returned, revealing a tunnel so large that a modern container ship could have moved through it. The sheer engineering prowess of the ancient Thalmiir continued to amaze him. Lex agreed.
“Holy shit, that’s one big cave.”
Ahead a cadre of w
arborn manned a movable bulwark. Several dozen of the large warriors stood behind the wall, most taking aim with their oversized crossbows. Just as the volley of arbalest bolts twanged over the fortifications one head turned amongst a group of warborn.
“Friend Lex, I hear you.” The cheery voice was at odds with the shrieks of agony that announced the bolts had found targets.
“Errat?” Lex asked, squinting.
Gryph smiled at the wide grin plastering Errat’s face. The expression was so unlike those of his brothers, that Gryph often forgot Errat was warborn. At least until the massive automaton stood in front of him. Errat pulled Gryph into a powerful bear hug, and the player swore his ribs creaked. Errat turned and embraced Lex, lifting the small Ordonian off his feet.
“Yeah, good to see you too pally, but I thought we agreed you wouldn’t pick me up anymore.”
Errat put Lex down, an abashed smile curling his lips. “Errat is sorry friend Lex, but I was so very excited to see my great friends that I forgot. I know it makes you feel like … how did you say it … a toddler in need of a new nappy? I will endeavor to remember henceforth.”
Gryph snickered and Lex glared up at him, daring him to say something.
“This is your doing?” Gryph asked, looking around at the UnderPass.
“Partially. My brothers are very great warriors. Errat just helped them by using this.” He held up a metallic tube the length and thickness of an empty paper towel roll. One end held a golf ball sized piece of glowing quartz.
“Did you make a flashlight?” Lex asked.
Errat cocked his head sideways and smiled, a tick he’d adopted after watching Lex. It was meant to suggest curiosity, but on Errat the expression made him appear confused or perhaps constipated. “That is a fine name, but I call this a Light Bomb Wand, because it…”
“Fires light bombs. Yup, I get it.” Lex extended his hand. “May I?”
Errat handed it over, his smile wide and then his expression turned serious. “Please friend Lex, be careful. I would hate for you to shoot your eye out.”
A stupid grin crossed Lex’s face. The NPC sent a quick smirk in Gryph’s direction, but Gryph refused to take the bait. Lex examined the wand then passed it to Gryph. The Player triggered his Identify talent. Aetherial magic powered the wand which made sense since Errat was only a few levels shy of Master tier in the discipline. The warborn explained that the wand was a prototype.
“With Mistress Yrriel’s help, Errat imbued the quartz with aetherial magic. As you know, the aether was once all there was, making it infinitely malleable. We imprinted the aetherial energy into the quartz. Now anyone with a mana pool can activate the wand, even if they do not possess any magic skills of their own.”
“So, the warborn can use it,” Gryph said.
Errat nodded. “Yes. It will not be as effective above ground where the creatures and animals very much like light, but here in the dark it works very well, very well indeed.”
“Can I try?” Lex asked, excitement bubbling below the surface. Both men looked at Gryph.
“Yes,” Gryph agreed with a sigh. “But behave.”
“Sweet,” Lex said and raised his hand up awaiting a high five. Errat bent down and smacked Lex’s hand with brutal force. Lex flinched and hissed in pain. “Okay, guess we’re still working on your high five skills.” Lex rubbed the sting out of his palm as they walked to the barricade.
They'd built the wall from interlocking plates of pure steel, a highly refined version of regular steel, mined and smelted right here in Dar Thoriim. It was more resistant to heat, cold and acid and, as evidenced by the dents and odd scorch marks on its surface, it could take a beating.
Gryph peered over the wall. While the UnderPass behind them was free of obstruction, the path ahead was littered with stalagmites. At first nothing seemed odd about this, but then Gryph noticed a dozen or more arbalest bolts protruding from the pillars of stone.
“Uh, guys, why are you shooting rocks?” Lex asked, but then his eyes widened in horror and disgust and Gryph knew his NPC had used Analyze. “Oh, yeah, that’s why.” He gave Gryph a ‘you’ll wanna see this’ look.
Gryph nodded and formed an Adventure Group and tagged Lex, Errat, Berrath and the closest two warborn. The Leadership perk allowed Gryph to share experience and increase the overall XP point intake of the group by 50%. It also granted the group two permanent Boons. Telepathic Bond enabled the entire group to communicate silently and over distances and Skill Progression, boosted the speed they could learn skills by 50%. Both had proven invaluable to the success of Gryph’s missions.
Without a word, Berrath and the two other warborn flanked Gryph. Gryph checked his Adventure Group interface and learned the two warborn were Kurrag and Durnyx. I must remember to congratulate Berrath on his men’s training. Gryph nodded to Lex, who shared his Analyze window with the group.
Stone Wrangler (Chthonic Aberrant) - Level: 13 (Deceased).
Health
Stamina
Mana
Spirit
0/325
0/657
0
0
Stone Wranglers are aberrant creatures whose only motivations in life are to kill, feed and breed. Their conical shape and rocky hide allow them to mimic stalactites and stalagmites. They have a large central eye and a tooth filled maw capable of delivering terrible bites. Knobby protrusions extend from the sides of their bodies allowing them to extrude tentacle-like pseudopods that grab prey. A sticky ichor covers the pseudopods. The ichor induces confusion, inhibits motor skills and with enough exposure, causes paralysis. A stone wrangler's age can be extrapolated from the number of knobby protrusions they possess. Each pair equaling 20 years of life.
Thousands of cilia cover their undersides enabling them to move, climb walls and stick to ceilings. Young stone wranglers spend most of their time clinging to ceilings, ready to drop onto unsuspecting prey. The sharp tips of their rocky hide allow them to pierce and kill their prey. Because of their heavier bodies, mature stone wranglers spend most of their time on the floor of their caverns.
When a stone wrangler closes its mouth and eye, it is indistinguishable from natural stalagmites or stalactites, allowing them to ambush prey with their pseudopods and feed. They are omnivores and will eat anything that crosses their path.
Nobody alive knows the true origin of these foul creatures, but rumors have long held that the stone wranglers had their origin in experiments using the blood of chthonic creatures.
Strengths
Immunities
Weaknesses
Chameleon. Paralysis attack.
Resistant to fire, cold, acid, sleep spells and effects.
Light.
“Why does every damn creepy monster in the Realms have tentacles?” Lex complained. Gryph couldn’t help but agree with his NPC’s assessment. Quite a few of the beasts they’d fought since entering this world of wonder and magic had tentacles.
“They are pseudopods,” Berrath said.
“What’s the difference?” Lex’s expression showed genuine interest tinged with the certainty that he would hate the answer.
“When you cut off a tentacle it stays cut off. A pseudopod will regrow itself, ready to entrap you again.” The warborn leader stared at Lex. “I prefer pseudopods. More of a challenge.”
Lex opened his mouth, but no witty retort was forthcoming. After a moment he looked from Berrath to Errat. “I take back what I said earlier. You are normal compared to these guys.”
Errat grinned, and then a melancholy expression took a hold of him. Gryph could not help feel for his friend. It must be hard to be different, alone, like you did not belong. Even the warborn’s name, the ancient Thalmiir word for wrong, made him stick out.
The sound of another volley of arbalest bolts drew Gryph’s eyes back to the UnderPass and the stone wranglers. His El’Edryn sight was phenomenal, allowing him to see deep into the darkness of the cave. Lex stood at his side, stretched onto his toes s
o he could peer over the barrier.
“How many are there do you think?” Lex asked, squinting into the murk.
“Hundreds,” Durnyx said, excitement clawing at the edges of his flat tone.
“Should be fun,” Lex said as he drew the wide glow of order energy to his hands.
“It is,” Kurrag said and took aim with his arbalest.
A few hours later Gryph’s group, together with several dozen other warborn, had killed hundreds of the rock-like monstrosities. The warborn did their work like a well-oiled machine, some killed the vile creatures, others moved the defensive bulwarks forward and still more harvested the crawler’s corpses. The operation was as efficient as any army Gryph had seen back on Earth.
You have earned Experience Points..
You have earned 100,000 XP for your part in the quest Cleanse the Underpass. You have helped to clear the UnderPass enabling free and safe travel between Dar Thoriim and the valley containing the ruined Nimmerian city Xygarrion.
You have earned Experience Points.
You have earned 152,000 XP for defeating Stone Wranglers (x162)
You have reduced Raathiel’s XP Deficit.
You have reduced Raathiel’s XP deficit by 252,000 XP. Current XP Deficit: - 419,277.
The beasts ate anything and everything, but even their powerful stomach acids could not dissolve metals or precious gems. The knobby protrusions also contained glands that generated the pseudopods and the paralytic ichor. Bruunhilde, the Master Alchemist, had begged the warborn to acquire as many as they could. Gryph suspected the haul would keep her busy for weeks.
